Sunday, November 7, 2010

The above as you know is a famous line by Robert Frost which is one of my favorites from a very young age. I have quoted this line in various essays during my school days. Now during my latest Rajasthan trip I was thinking about the places I have visited and the places I wish to visit. I realized that the second list is much longer and hence decided to put this one as the title of this piece.

I was born in Kolkata in late 1983. First time I went outside West Bengal was in 1985 when I visited my ancestral house in Munger, Bihar to attend my grandfather's funereal. So as you can understand, I was less than two years old and hence has no memory except one. It was a famous story about me happily eating 'Pneyajis' sitting on a tractor in the garage adjacent to our house on the day of the funereal!

My next adventure outside Bengal was in Benaras, the year was 1986. I was two and half years old and it was time for my 'Mundan' ceremony! For this trip I have a couple of memories. One of them was during the train journey. my parents got a couple of side berths and as my mom confirmed I was awake whole night chatting with my dad. The other memory was a beautiful one. Standing in one of the ghats in Benaras in the evening, holding my father's hand and watching those boats and vessels on the water. I still remember those reflection of light in water.

During 1991-92 me and my parents visited places like Deoghar, Raajgeer and Goa. I was still quite young at that time to have clear memories but I still remember the huge statues of Gautam Buddha in Raajgeer and also the beautiful churches in Goa. I do remember the beaches though I was not grown up enough to have all the fun in the beach!

And then there was a long gap with various reasons including my father's transfer to Patna and my studies. And next time I went out of West Bengal was to Kanpur to do my masters in 2005 and in since then I have made trips in Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Rajasthan and Sydney.

Also visited a few places inside West Bengal like Digha, Bakkhali, Tajpur and how can I miss the number of awesome visits in Shantiniketan!

And now comes the places which I want to visit in Future... let's see how it goes!!

5. Sydney (I liked the place and want to have another visit when I do not have a fractured skull)6. Bangkok and Phuket (the beachs)7. Egypt (Pyramids! Obviously!!)8. Europe... now this will be a big list... let me start with Greece, Rome, Venice, Paris and then Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands. And obviously how can I ignore that small Island called United Kingdom!9. US of America... well this place has hardly any history but well, being the most powerful country of the world I can't ignore it. Also I have so many friends around USA that accommodation will never be a problem!!10. Canada in winter (I guess it will be fun to be in -15 degree temperatures)11. Brazil (in 2014, during the time of FIFA world cup!)

And then comes a few cricketing countries like

12. Australia (the entire continent)13. The Caribbeans (365 beaches, one each of each day of year!)14. New Zealand (the grounds are absolutely beautiful there)15. South Africa16. Sri Lanka

These are the places which I can list down now, may be I will add more places in this in future!!

Any of my friends who is reading this wish to give me company in any of these trips?